1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image capture apparatus having a display apparatus.
2. Related Background Art
There are already known apparatuses, such as a notebook personal computer, a digital camera or a personal digital assistant (PDA), equipped with a display apparatus having a light modulating function for changing, according to the desire of a user, an intensity of a backlight employed in a liquid crystal display panel.
Also as apparatuses having a similar function, there is known a display apparatus in which the back light intensity is not modulated gradually but large step by large step in response to a button operation. Such method for modulating the emission intensity will be explained in the following with reference to FIG. 2. In this method, the relationship between the light modulating step and the light intensity is changed from a curve B to a curve A. For example, a +2 step on the curve B is changed to a +2 step on the curve A, and the light intensity can thus be increased by a certain proportion without changing the light modulating step.
Also, various proposals have been made to automatically change the intensity of the backlight according to the level of the external light. As a representative proposal, there is known a technology utilizing a sensor for detecting brightness around the apparatus and an intensity modulating unit for modulating the intensity of the backlight according to the detected brightness, thereby controlling the intensity according to the illuminance. In the above-described equipment, however, the light intensity of the liquid crystal display apparatus is automatically changed even against the will of the user, after the lapse of a predetermined time for the purpose of electric power saving, and is therefore not very convenient for the user.
Also, in case of changing the light intensity of the liquid crystal display apparatus to a maximum or minimum light intensity, the light modulation has to be set on a menu screen or the like, and this prevents the user from changing the light intensity immediately.
Also, the above-described technology (disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H02-12125) requires a sensor for detecting the brightness, thereby leading to an increase in the cost and dimension of the apparatus.